Henrik Lundqvist to Miss Stanley Cup Final to Seek Treatment for Advil Addiction

The New York Rangers will be forced to play in the first Stanley Cup Final in 20 years without their best player, as star goaltender Henrik Lundqvist shocked teammates and friends today by checking into a treatment center for what his agent says is “a serious attempt to get his Advil addiction under control.”

Lunqvist’s teammates say they are disappointed to be playing without their netminder, but hope he gets the help he needs.

“I’m fairly new to the team, but I honestly had no idea he had a problem with Advil,” said right wing Martin St. Louis. “He hid it very well. And I didn’t even know that Advil was something someone could be addicted to. But, yeah, I wish him the best on beating this.”

The goalie appears in a national ad campaign for Advil, a decision many close to him now view as a cry for help.

“I think we all saw that as an athlete making some endorsement money,” said defenseman Marc Staal. “But if you look at it now, when someone decides to openly be the face of an over-the-counter non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug … well, yeah, I’ll be more mindful of that sort of thing in the future. We can all learn from this. He’ll be in my thoughts and prayers.”

Don Meehan, Lundqvist’s agent, said the goalie began using Advil for “tough pain.”

“He literally faces enough pucks to equal a rhinoceros every season,” said Meehan. “That really ads up. At first the Advil was fast-acting enough, but then he needed it to be more and more fast-acting. He felt he needed to nip this in the bud, now, before he went to something stronger like Motrin Liquid Gels.”